Grey Eyes (9 page)

“Us?”

“
Tapwe
, my girl.”

“Who do you mean?”

“Willow will take baby over to the Crane lodge and you will stay and help me,” explained Walking Moon Woman.

“Who exactly is having this ‘dispute,' mother?”

“We should probably get going,” said White Willow Woman. “Are you going somewhere, Uncle?”

“
Tapwe
,” said Painted Turtle Man. “I am giving a teaching for the young warriors tonight. I won't be back until very late.”

“I am going to help him,” added Brown Shield Man, kissing his wife's swollen belly as he got up.

Singing Doe was losing her patience. “Mother?”

“My girl,” began Walking Moon Woman. “It doesn't matter what our personal feelings are towards someone who needs our help. It is our clan's duty to be impartial when administering the Bear's justice.”

“
Motch
!” exclaimed Singing Doe getting to her feet. “You are bringing them here?”

“Don't get upset, my girl. Think about your baby. You must be nice to them.”

“And who are they picking on this time?”

“My girl,” said Walking Moon Woman, raising her voice. “That does not sound impartial. We will learn the details when they all arrive tonight. I need you to help with the ceremony and the food. You don't have to do anything else or talk to anyone.”

“You could have told me.” Singing Doe was not feeling inclined to hide her true feelings, yet she knew duty to her clan must come first.

“I know, my girl. I know.”

12
mitātaht nīsosāp

“T
ansi
? Come in, come in,” smiled Singing Doe as she welcomed Red Dragonfly Woman of the Wolf clan and her young daughter into the Bear lodge. “Would you like some tea?”

“I'm sorry this visit could not be under better circumstances,” answered Red Dragonfly Woman. “The sooner this is all resolved the better. You know what they are like…”

“May the Grandmother Bear bless you with her healing,” interrupted Walking Moon Woman.

“May the Grandmother Wolf protect you and your family,” answered Red Dragonfly Woman. “I am sorry you have been inconvenienced by this matter. I am sure you would rather be with your grandson than have to listen to this…”

“Ahem!” came a voice from outside.

“May the Grandmother Bear bless you with her healing,” said Singing Doe as the women entered.

“May the Grandmother Eagle bless you with her far-seeing eye,” the elder Eagle Twin answered curtly. It was unclear who she was talking to as she locked eyes with Red Dragonfly Woman.

“Can we get this over with? My sister and I are very busy,” added the younger Eagle Twin.

“Please come in,” answered Walking Moon Woman politely. “Doe, did you offer our guests some tea?”

“
Motch
,” answered the elder Eagle twin. “My grandmother asked us to come to you and so we came.” She looked about the Bear lodge as she spoke, taking note first of the new hides covering the lodge, then of the bundles of roots and dried plants hanging from the poles.

“You just couldn't wait to mention your grandmother,” snapped Red Dragonfly Woman. “Well, she isn't here to wipe your little noses, is she?”

“Excuse me?” the younger Eagle twin shot back.

“Daughters!” said Walking Moon Woman. “Please, sit down. You will both be given plenty of time to speak. I have been passed tobacco to help restore your harmony. You will both respect the tobacco and this lodge. The Grandmother Bear will be invited to hear you and she will decide what is to be done.”

“
Tapwe
, Auntie,” said Red Dragonfly Woman. “I will respect the Bear clan justice.”

The Eagle twins crossed their arms and exchanged a look. The elder Eagle twin said nothing but nodded at Walking Moon Woman.

“I will light the sage and invite the Grandmother Bear to come witness our circle,” began Walking Moon Woman. “I will ask Singing Doe to sing the Bear song and then we will begin.”

The abalone shell with the smouldering sage was first offered to Singing Doe, who wafted the smoke over her body and through her hair. She set the shell down in front of her and waved her hand drum and drum stick through the smoke as well. When she was finished, she passed the smoking shell to Red Dragonfly Woman on her right. Singing Doe began the Bear song as the shell was passed around and the others anointed themselves with the smoke. When the shell came to Walking Moon Woman, she set it in front of herself and let the smoke continue to float up and around the Bear lodge until Singing Doe concluded the song.

“I have been passed tobacco,” began Walking Moon Woman as she brought out her brightly coloured talking stick, “to ask our Grandmother Bear to share her wisdom with us. Our harmony has been disrupted and two daughters of
Nisichawayasihk
who should be as sisters have been hurt by hard feelings and harsh words.”

The two women looked up at one another and shared a frown.

“We ask in a humble way,” continued Walking Moon Woman, “that you hear us, Grandmother Bear, and show us your healing power.”

Silence filled the Bear lodge until someone coughed.

“White Star Woman of the Eagle clan, have you claimed offense to something Red Dragonfly Woman of the Wolf clan has said or done?”

“
Tapwe
,” answered the elder Eagle twin.

“And Red Dragonfly Woman, do you acknowledge giving offence to your sister?”

“
Motch
,” she answered. “I have given no offense.” The younger Eagle twin scoffed but was frowned at by Walking Moon Woman.

“I will ask White Star Woman to tell Grandmother Bear what has happened. Everyone gathered will have a chance to speak, so I ask that no one interrupt when another is talking. Speak from your heart and share only what you yourself have said and done.” Walking Moon Woman passed the talking stick to the elder Eagle twin.

“
Tansi
, Grandmother Bear,” she began, speaking to the fire. “I am White Star Woman of the Eagle clan. I am seeking your guidance in correcting an injustice. I am the mother of Laughing Cloud Boy, who has only been upon Mother Earth for six summers.” She swallowed hard and a single tear fell down her cheek.

“My son admires his father as all boys do. He says often he wishes to be just like him when he walks the warrior's path. I wish I could keep him a child forever, but I know this is not the way of the
Nehiyawak
. As a mother, I only wish to see him happy and so I planned to give him a present. I wished to give him a bow exactly like his father's. I knew this would make him very happy.”

The younger Eagle twin let out a sympathetic sigh.

“I had been told,” the elder Eagle twin gulped, as she continued, “that Red Dragonfly Woman's husband made my husband's bow and that he was considered one of the best bow makers in
Nisichawayasihk
. I approached Red Dragonfly Woman and asked her if she would have her husband make my son a bow to match his father's. She told me that to do so would take a lot of her husband's time and that he would not be able to hunt for many days. I agreed to give her four bags of pemmican as compensation.”

“My sister and I pounded the pemmican for two days. We filled four bags and when Red Dragonfly Woman came, we traded as agreed. All seemed to be well except that when I gave the bow to my son, he could not pull it because it was strung too tight. It made me very angry to watch my son so embarrassed and he was sad when his father laughed at his efforts. I turned my anger on my husband and sent him away for a few days. When I tried to get Red Dragonfly Woman to have her husband fix it, she said he could not. I told her to return my pemmican and she said she would not. I ask Grandmother Bear to give me justice and return what is ours.”

“
Hiy, hiy
,” said Walking Moon Woman nodding. “I will now ask Shining Star Woman of the Eagle Clan to tell Grandmother Bear how this ordeal has affected her twin sister.” The talking stick was passed to the younger Eagle twin.

“
Tansi
, Grandmother Bear,” she said, addressing the fire. “I am Shining Star Woman of the Eagle clan and I have come here today to support my sister. I hope this issue can be resolved quickly and justly, as my sister has been unable to eat or sleep because of the hurt she has in her heart.” The younger Eagle twin paused to compose herself. “All she wanted was to make her son happy. What kind of mother could wish to deprive her of that? Why would someone wish to put her through this?” She turned her glare at Red Dragonfly Woman. “We demand justice!”

“
Hiy, hiy
,” said Walking Moon Woman quickly, surprising the younger Eagle twin. “Singing Doe, please give our sister some water. I know it is difficult to see one's loved one suffer in some way. We must not seek to place blame; we must open our hearts and seek an understanding.”

The Bear matriarch paused for a moment so that Singing Doe could offer the birch bark cup to the younger Eagle twin. The woman sobbed as she drank the water.

“Our Grandmother Bear has heard from our Eagle sisters, and now wishes to hear from our sister of the Wolf clan. Red Dragonfly Woman, I invite you to share your words to the Grandmother Bear.”

Red Dragonfly Woman was sitting with her arms crossed, bouncing her leg. She sucked her upper teeth, making a loud chirping sound, while maintaining eye contact with the younger Eagle twin. After a time, she shifted her gaze to the fire.

“
Tansi
, Grandmother Bear,” she said curtly. “I don't know why I came here. No disrespect intended to the Bear clan. They have always been kind and fair.”

Walking Moon Woman nodded and cocked her head slightly as though straining to hear.

“Those Eagle twins…” Red Dragonfly Woman paused, shifting her gaze back to the twins. “They think they can say whatever they want because of who their grandmother is.”

“Ahem,” interrupted Walking Moon Woman, indicating the fire with her gaze.

“She came to me,” continued Red Dragonfly Woman, “asking for my husband to make a bow. I said he would do it for four bags of pemmican, which was less than I would normally agree to. I regret that now. She said she wanted the bow to be just like her husband's, but small enough for her boy. I told my husband to do it, and he told me it would be made from the ash tree and would be hard to pull. I didn't expect her to want him to kill a moose with it at only six summers, and she said she wanted it to look the same as her husband's. But if any other kind of wood were used, it would not look the same, so I had him make it the way she asked for it.”

The Eagle twins frowned.

“
Hiy, hiy
,” said Walking Moon Woman. “Would your daughter like to share?”

Red Dragonfly Woman nodded at her daughter.

The girl spoke. “
Tansi
, Grandmother Bear. I am here to support my mother. We were asked to do something and we did it. My mother doesn't deserve to be treated like this. The Eagle twins asked for a bow, my father made it, and my mother gave it to them. The next thing we know, everyone in the village is talking about how we somehow cheated the Eagles.”

The elder Eagle twin cleared her throat loudly.

“And then,” the girl added quickly, “she has the nerve to ask us for her pemmican back. Well, I don't care who her grandmother is, my father did what was asked and we already ate the pemmican, which wasn't very good anyway.”

“How dare you!” screamed the younger Eagle twin.

“
Hiy, hiy
,” interrupted Walking Moon Woman. “Grandmother Bear has heard enough. Let us stop for a while and have something to eat. Let's all try to think about what has been shared and try to put ourselves in the other's place.”

Singing Doe got up and began preparing food for the guests. Every scrape and clatter was heard through the silence in the lodge. Walking Moon Woman added wood to the small fire.

“You can help if you want to, my girl,” said Red Dragonfly Woman to her daughter, giving the Eagle twins a start. The girl stood up and assisted Singing Doe with the preparations. As the food was served, no one spoke. When all the guests were served, Singing Doe sat down next to her mother with some effort.

“How long until you have your baby, Auntie?” asked the girl.

“At least three more moons,” answered Singing Doe.

“I hope you have a girl. I'll come and play with her.”

“You would be welcome any time,” smiled Singing Doe.

“How many children did you have, Bear mother?” asked the younger Eagle twin sweetly.

Red Dragonfly Woman frowned.

“I had five,” answered Walking Moon Woman. “Singing Doe is my eldest daughter and I had three boys before her.” The others began to eat and drink as they tried to focus their attention on the Bear matriarch and not at each other.

“I remember the first time I was pregnant,” reminisced the old woman. “I was so sure I would have a girl. I was the only girl my mother had and she was the only girl my grandmother had. It seems Bears usually have boys.”

The others laughed knowingly. Walking Moon Woman looked deep into the fire.

“I remember I was so convinced I would have a daughter that I asked the Deer clan matriarch to make me a cradle board. She made the best quillwork designs in the village. I asked her to make butterflies, the rivers, and the moon, so everyone would know I had a daughter even if she was covered up. It seemed like I gave the Deer matriarch everything I possibly could, to trade, even some things I still needed. All I could think about was how proud I would be to have a daughter who would carry on the Bear clan.”